Record Label Partnership Agreement
A record label partnership agreement is a legal agreement that is most often made between a recording artist and a record label. It often deals with aspects like production of music and sharing of profit between the recording artist and record label. When offered record label partnership agreement, you should:
- Make sure you know how and when you will be paid. Ideally you will be given a cash advance in lieu of future royalties.
- Try to secure higher royalties after reaching a certain figure, or after the first year. Aim for a payment on 100% of all sales.
- Make sure you know what they want from you and remember they, not you, will own the recordings. You need to check whether they want you to record exclusively for them.
- Ask what happens if you split up. In most cases each member will remain individually signed to the label.
Payment of royalties from the sound recordings
There are certain aspects that one should pay attention to regarding payment of royalties prior to signing the record label partnership agreement. Such include:
- Trying to secure higher royalties after reaching a certain sale figure.
- Trying to increase your rate of royalty with each new year of the record label partnership agreement.
- Aiming for payment on 100% of sales.
- Getting advice if a company insists on paying a half-rate royalty for ‘TV advertised’ product or compilations.
- Trying to ensure that you are entitled to receive 50% of any income paid to the record company by VPL (Video Performance Ltd).
- Warning oneself of ‘hidden’ deductions for packaging or new technologies in the record label partnership agreement.
- Paying particular attention to the royalty rates that apply to digital download sales and streaming revenue. One should ensure these do not include any reductions.
Advances in a record label partnership agreement
Advances are a financial sign of good faith from the record company. They should always be non-returnable (and only recoupable from any future record royalties). If a long-term the record label partnership agreement is offered, the advance should be large enough. This is to provide the members of the band with a reasonable living wage until any initial costs have been met and royalties are being received.
Anticipation of payment based on a record label partnership agreement
The majority of eth record label companies provide a statement of account to their musicians. This happens often, for instance, within 2 or 3 months. If the royalty earnings are more than the individual profits and the recording costs incurred, the statements ought to have a payment. Such significant aspects should be highlighted in the record label partnership agreement.
Deductions
The cost of recording and personal advances should be offset against royalty income. One should try to get references to ‘other costs’ deleted from an agreement, or at least make them subject to joint agreement. One should also try to limit the number of remixes the company can commission without one’s approval or it’s possible that recording costs will spiral. Also, one should never agree to cross-collateralization of advances against non-royalty income, such as PPL, or income from other contracts. The record label partnership agreement should reflect the artist’s views on the deductions.
Record label partnership agreement period
A typical record label partnership agreement with a major record company might be for one year plus four options, calling for five albums. However, past judgements in British courts seem to have frowned upon the restrictive nature of long-term recording agreements and, especially with small labels who are unable to guarantee sufficient annual advances, you should aim for as short a deal as possible.
Tips for record label partnership agreement period
If a guaranteed annual advance is insufficient for the members of the band to live on, then you should only commit yourself to one album. There should be a time limit of one year within which this should be recorded and released, and if the period is defined by reference to the release, then ensure there is a maximum duration beyond which that period cannot extend. This mostly happens in instances where there is no release.
Even with larger companies who can afford advances, if recordings have not been released in the major markets of the world within a certain time, you should be able to terminate the record label partnership agreement. Finally, it is wise to leave out extra recordings, such as ‘live’ and ‘greatest hits’, from an agreement, so you can use them as a bargaining tool later on.
Recording ownership
It is important to remember that because the record company has initially commissioned and paid for the recordings, in the eyes of the law they are the owners and not you. The record label partnership agreement will make this clear and assign all copyrights in the recording to them. However, if you have made and paid for recordings yourself then you probably own copyright in them. So, if a label expresses interest in releasing them you should think seriously about whether to assign your copyright to the label or simply grant them a license to exploit the recordings.
If this situation arises, the MU generally always advises that you license your recordings and retain copyright in them yourself, unless there is a very good reason to assign them. Contact your Regional Office for advice, or if offered a contract that assigns copyrights you own, discuss it with the MU’s Contract Advisory Service.
A record label partnership agreement often requires one to give consent for the company to exploit your performances contained on the recordings by selling records and authorizing others to broadcast them. The MU feels that these consents ought to apply only to record sales and the right to give others permission to broadcast recordings. Vague ‘audio visual rights’ or ‘other uses’ should be subject to negotiation from time to time and not just signed away in the initial agreement. Also ensure that session musicians sign the appropriate MU consent form and that a copy is sent to the Union.
Requirements by the company of musicians
- Exclusive recording as agreed in the record label partnership agreement. However, one should be permitted to perform non-featured session provided that the record label is given du credit.
- Avoidance or re-recording of tracks they record for other companies for a certain number of years after the lapse of the record label partnership agreement.
- Not having outstanding agreements with other labels.
- Granting permission to the companies to utilize approved biographical and photographic details for public purposes.
- Devotion of a reasonable amount of time to promotional and interviewing activities.
- Consent to sell the record performances owing to future technology as agreed in the record label partnership agreement.
Release commitment
Although it is often not the intention that the record label should release masters themselves, it is important to have a clause in the record label partnership agreement. This will aid in ensuring that somebody does, otherwise the artist’s work might never see the light of day. Any record label partnership agreement needs a clause which commits the label to secure releases in the relevant nation for tracks recorded. Also, it could aid in entering into a record label partnership agreement with an established record company whereby they are obliged to release at least one album.
In the event that the record label fails to achieve the above, the artist should ensure that they have the right to have the unreleased masters assigned to them. If they come to an arrangement to repay the un-recouped recording costs or give the production company an override royalty upon such masters, favorable terms should be included in the record label partnership agreement. The artist should try to negotiate so that they only have to do one of the above, but their success will, as always, depend on bargaining power. It is also worth trying to secure a commitment to release in the major markets. However, few production companies will give more than an obligation to use ‘reasonable endeavours’ to secure such release as they are reluctant to commit to this in the record label partnership agreement.
Re-recording restriction
Record label partnership agreements almost invariably seek to prevent the artist from recording any song that has been recorded during the term of an exclusive agreement. This is for a period after that agreement ends. The artist should, however, seek to limit the effect of the restriction to recordings released during the term of an exclusive agreement, or within a short period thereafter.
Mechanical licenses
The right to reproduce musical compositions is called the ‘mechanical right’ and is one of the rights owned by the author of the composition or their assignees, for instance, music publishers. Record label partnership agreements will almost always contain a clause that warrants that the record company will be able to obtain such a license.
References
https://business-in-abox.com/templates/record-label
https://www.zapmeta.ws/web/results
https://www.izito.ws/search/nairobi
https://en-int.seekweb.com.search
At Legal writing experts, we would be happy to assist in preparing any legal document you need. We are international lawyers and attorneys with significant experience in legal drafting, Commercial-Corporate practice and consulting. In the last few years, we have successfully undertaken similar assignments for clients from different jurisdictions. If given this opportunity, we will be able to prepare the legal document within the shortest time possible.